Erin Brockovich (2000) Reviewed by Eugene Novikov http://www.ultimate-movie.com/ Member: Online Film Critics Society
Starring Julia Roberts, Albert Finney, Aaron Eckhart. Directed by Steven Soderbergh. Rated R.
Even if the movie itself is a bit lackluster, Erin Brockovich will stick in my mind as one of exceedingly few movies where Julia Roberts doesn't play Julia Roberts. It hasn't happened since 1997's wonderful Conspiracy Theory. Everywhere else, she's played the same role, the unsure-of-what-she-wants romantic role model. She has a distinctive romantic relationship here too, but at least she gets to spout some entertainingly fiery monologues while she's at it. Too bad the movie gets bogged down in a trite legal plot rather than explore her interesting character further.
The title character is a twice-divorced, uneducated, unemployed woman, taking care of three young children while trying to keep herself from starving. She's desperately running all around L.A. looking for a job -- something, anything -- but is turned down everywhere she goes because of her lack of schooling and expertise. But finally, via a string of good luck (and perseverance), Erin gets a position as a clerk in a small law firm.
Her boss, an elderly lawyer named Ed Masry played by the inimitable Albert Finney, is often taken aback by Erin's overtly aggressive nature. She gets into fights with the staff, insults his ties and he's ready to fire her. But then she goes off on a tangent, to investigate a real estate case that, for some reason, has bloodwork and medical records mixed in. She soon finds that an evil utility company named "PG&E" is contaminating a town's drinking water with inordinate amounts of hexavalent chromium, a poisonous, carcinogenic substance that's not supposed to be in tap water under any circumstances.
Needless to say, all of the town's residents are seriously affected, with medical bills starting to skyrocket. So Erin, the gentle soul that she is, convinces her boss to take on this giant class-action suit, which may be a serious risk for good old Ed, since it requires a lot of time and money but does not guarantee a positive outcome. Meanwhile, Erin herself developed a relationship with an unusually kindly, unemployed biker dude (Aaron Eckhart) who takes care of her kids when she's at work, but the arrangement is on thin ice because she is hardly ever home anymore...
The first half if this movie jumps off the screen at you. Julia Roberts is riveting as a street-smart, desperate woman struggling to survive in a big city. Her story is interesting, compulsively watchable. Immediately, she seems like a woman I'd love to spend the next two and a half hours with. This blissful state continues for a half an hour or so. But director Steven Soderbergh and writer Susannah Grant aren't at all interested in keeping it that way. It's downhill from there.
The turning point, of course, is when the characters get mixed up in the legal matter. This shifts Erin Bronkovich's focus -- how could it not -- and it becomes a moderately entertaining but painfully ordinary Grishamesque legal drama. The movie manages to pause and actually examine what's happening to this person I got so attached to in the first half hour precious few times. Hexavalent chromium has completely taken over and the film isn't as interesting anymore.
Ironically, though the lawsuit plot takes up most of Erin Bronkovich's running time, it seems almost like an afterthought, something put in to entertain the lowest common denominator because the masses presumably wouldn't be interested in just the person (what destroys this argument is that the film is actually a true story, but for cinematic purposes I'm going to cheerfully ignore that fact). It's a shame that a personality so decidedly unique had to be diluted with a storyline so trite.
What really pulls you through it, in the end, is the performances. Julia Roberts remains tremendously entertaining, spouting harsh, loud monologues right up until the credits. Few can outshout Roberts. Albert Finney, a four-time Oscar nominee steals a lot of the scenes he is in. He has the perfect combination of grumpiness and amiability that's often difficult to concoct. It helps that he is given some downright hilarious lines.
Those who watch Erin Brockovich might remember last year's terrific John Travolta drama A Civil Action, which was also about a lawyer helping a town with poisoned water. The difference betwene the two was that in Civil Action, the legal matter was its driving force. It was the centerpiece and the rest of the plot revolved around it. The trouble with Erin Brockovich is that the character is the centerpiece and the lawsuit takes our attention away from it.
Grade: C+
©2000 Eugene Novikov
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